Apparatus for the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes



Aug. 19, 1958 D. w MoLlNs APPARATUS Foa THE MANUFACTURE oF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 22, 1954 i a'wm ATTORNEY# Aug. 19, 1958l D. w. MoLlNs PPRATUS` FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1954 /NVENTOR web ATTORNEYS United States Patent O APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOUTHPIECE CIGARETTES Desmond Walter Molins, Deptford, London, England,

assignor to Molins Machine Company, Limited, Deptford, London, England, a British company Application October 22, 1954, Serial No. 464,156

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 29, 1953 3 Claims. (Cl. 131--61) This invention concerns improvements in lor relating to the manufacture of mouthpiece cigarettes.

By the expression mouthpiece cigarettes when used herein is meant a cigarette in which a tobacco portion and a mouthpiece portion are arranged within a common wrapper. A mouthpiece portion may consist of a piece of filtering material, or a hollow tube, or any other suitable piece of material (including tobacco) which is different from the tobacco contained in the remainder of the cigarette, or any combination of the foregoing. For convenience, any such mouthpiece portions will hereinafter be referred to as stubs One way of making mouthpiece cigarettes consists in feeding a continuous upwrapped tobacco filler lengthwise and cutting it at intervals into separate lengths, spacing the lengths apart, inserting stubs into the spaces between tobacco lengths, and enclosing the resulting composite filler in a paper wrapper to form a continuous composite rod which is then cut at appropriate intervals to form mouthpiece cigarettes. One example of a method of an apparatus for making mouthpiece cigarettes on this principle is disclosed in United States Patent Number 2,742,905 granted April 24, 1956.

When stubs are inserted between tobacco lengths as mentioned above, it is sometimes diflicult to avoid the occurrence .of gaps between the ends of the stubs and the ends of tobacco lengths. This difficulty arises in particular when the tobacco lengths between which the stubs are inserted are already positioned on the paper web which is to be wrapped around the stubs and tobacco to form a composite rod.

In the complete specification of United States Patent No. 2,742,905, granted April 24, 1956, a method and apparatus are disclosed whereby successive tobacco portions are spaced apart a distance no greater than the length of the stub to be inserted between them, and this space is temporarily enlarged by endwise pressure on one of the tobacco portions so as to cause endwise contraction of the latter, so as to facilitate insertion of the stub, which in the example described is moved into the space at a faster forward speed than that of the tobacco portions, so that the stub presses endwise against the rear end of the preceding tobacco portion and thus enlarges the space.

According to the present invention there is provided in the manufacture `of mouthpiece cigarettes a method comprising the steps of feeding forwardly successive lengths of unwrapped tobacco spaced apart endwise, the space between two successive lengths being not greater than (e. g. substantially the same as, or less than) the length of a stub to be inserted, temporarily enlarging said space by causing the stub to press endwise on one of said tobacco lengths while being inserted, and thereafter (e. g. immediately after insertion of the stub) causing the stub to move, relatively to the tobacco lengths,

towards the other said tobacco length.

The word length as used herein and in the appended claims in relation to unwrapped tobacco is to be understood as including not only a length which has been separated from a continuous stream of tobacco by severance of the latter, but also the stream itself.

The stub may be inserted by being caused to move endwise into the space with a faster forward speed than that of the tobacco lengths so as to press against the rear endvof the tobacco length preceding it, in which case the stub is thereafter (e. g. immediately after insertion) caused to move at a slower forward speed than the tobacco lengths, whereby it moves, relatively to the tobacco lengths towards the tobacco length behind it.

The method may include pushing the stub endwise by a member moving at the said faster forward speed to insert the stub, and then pressing the stub by a member moving at the said slower forward speed so as to retard the forward movement of the stub.

Further according to the invention there is provided in apparatus for manufacturing mouthpiece cigarettes, means to feed forwardly an unwrapped tobacco filler, means to sever the said filler, means to move a severed portion of the stream lengthwise away from the portion behind it by a distance such as to form between the two said portions a space no greater than (e. g. substantially the same as, or less than) the length of a stub, means to movea stub endwise into said space with a forward speed greater than that of the tobacco portions, and means operable thereafter to retard the forward movement of the stub so as to reduce its forward speed to a speed lower than that of the tobacco portions.

The apparatus vmay comprise means arranged to engage a stub and move it into said space at a faster forward speed than that of the tobacco lengths, and thereafter while engaging the stub to reduce the forward speed of the latter below that of the tobacco lengths.

The said last named means may comprise an element arranged to engage the rear end of a stub and to push it into said space at a faster forward speed than that of the tobacco length, and a further element arranged to engage the leading end of the said stub and to move, after said stub has been inserted into the said space, at a slower forward speed than that of the tobacco lengths so as to reduce the speed of the stub.

The said elements maybe carried by a rotatable wheel which is arranged to be rotated at varying speeds, Alternatively the said elements may be carried by a wheel which rotates at a constant speed, the elements being arranged to move at varying speeds.

Apparatus according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of apparatus for feeding lengths of tobacco and inserting stubs between them;

Figure 2 is a similar view of an alternative form of apparatus; and

Figure 3 is an end view taken on the line 111-111, Figure 2, some parts being omitted.

Referring to Figure 1, a tobacco filler is formed and fed forwardly on a tape 1 which moves beneath a hopper (not shown) through a trough la. The filler passes through a guide tube 2 and a further guide tube 3 on to a paper web 4 carried by a tape 5. The tobacco filler is severed at intervals by a rotating knife 6 which separates from the oncoming filler a length of tobacco which is on the paper web 4.

The tape 1, as described and illustrated in the provisional specification and drawings of United States patent application Serial No. 461,163, filed October 8, 1954, and now abandoned, is arranged to move at varying speeds. The arrangement is such that the filler is moved through the guide tubes and on to the paper web at substantially the speed of the paper web until the filler is cut, whereupon the speed of the tape 1 is greatly reduced so as to enable a space to be developed between the cut length (which is moving on the paper web at the speed of the latter) and the uncut filler. Thereafter the speed of the tape 1 is increased again.

A roller 7, arranged to rotate as shown by the arrow, and whose peripheral speed is approximately the same as the speed of the paper web, is arranged to engage the tobacco on the paper web in order to control it and ensure that each cut length moves forward bodily at the speed of the paper web immediately it is cut, so as to counteract any possible hold-up caused by the passage of the knife 6 through the tobacco stream. Beyond the roller 7 is a shoe 8 which also engages the tobacco to control its height and protect it from damage when a stub is inserted in front of its leading end.

A stub-wheel 9 which rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, is arranged to insert stubs into the spaces between successive tobacco lengths. The stub-wheel is provided with three retractable pushers 10 each of which in turn pushes a stub from the lowermost flute of a uted drum 11 which is rotatable intermittently in timed relationship with the stub-wheel. The stubs are carried down by the pushers and delivered in turn on to the paper web 4, each pusher being arranged to be retracted at a suitable time.

Each of the pushers 10 consists of one end of a lever 12 pivoted at 13, and the other end of the lever carries a roller 14 arranged to follow a fixed cam 15, being urged against the cam by a spring 16.

The stub-wheel is also provided with three retractable stub-retarding lingers 17, each of which consists of one end of a lever 18 pivoted at 19 and having at its other end a roller 20 which follows the fixed cam 15', being urged against the cam by a spring 21.

The arrangement of the levers 12 and 18 in relation to the lixed cam 15 is such that a pusher 1t), which projects through an aperture in the rirn of the wheel 9 to engage a stub in the lowermost flute of the fluted drum 11, and to push the stub downwardly for delivery to the paper web, is retracted when it has completed the insertion of a stub into the space between two lengths of tobacco; and a linger 17 is retracted as it approaches the fluted drum 11 so as to avoid engaging the rear end of a stub which is to be pushed out of the lowermost flute by the pusher 10, but is thereafter caused to project through the rim of the wheel so as to be positioned directly in front of the leading end of that stub.

The stub-wheel 9 is arranged to be rotated at varying speeds such that as a finger 10 is pushing a stub into a space between the two tobacco lengths, the stub is caused to move at a faster forward speed than the speed of the tobacco lengths and the paper web 4, and that when the stub has been pushed into the space the speed of the wheel is reduced so that the linger 17 in front of the stub moves with a forward speed less than that of the tobacco and paper web. To effect this, the wheel is rotated alternately faster and slower, and as there are three sets of lingers 10 and 17, it is necessary to reduce and increase the speed of the wheel three times during each revolution.

The faster speed of the stub-wheel is such that a stub while being inserted into the space between two tobacco lengths moves forwardly a small distance, for example two or three millimetres, further than the tobacco lengths and the paper web during that period. The slower speed of the wheel is such that a linger 17, positioned in front of a stub which has been inserted in a space, moves forwardly a distance about two or three millimetres less than the tobacco lengths and paper web during that period.

Consequently the stub during insertion is pushed by the pusher 10 against the rear end of the preceding tobacco length and compresses the tobacco endwise, thus enlarging the space temporarily to facilitate entry of the plug into the space. After insertion, or after the space has been enlarged as just explained to enable the stub to fit in between the two tobacco lengths, the stub is retarded by the linger 17, and is thus caused to move, relatively to the tobacco lengths and the paper web, towards the leading end of the tobacco length behind it. The purpose of this is to close any gap which may exist behind the stub as a result of the stub being pushed against the preceding length and the consequent enlargement of the space between the tobacco lengths. A

In the drawing a pusher 10 and finger 17 are shown in dotted lines at the positions they may conveniently occupy at the time when the speed of the stub-wheel is reduced from the faster to the slower speed. At the position shown the pusher 10 is still being retracted, although if desired the pusher could be fully retracted before the speed reduction occurs.

The speed of the stub-wheel is again increased after the linger 17 has moved out of the path of the stubs and tobacco lengths, and before the next stub is pushed by the next pusher 10 into the next space occurring between two tobacco lengths.

The variation of the speed of rotating of the stubwheel can be effected in any suitable and convenient way. One such mechanism comprises a driving worm and a driven worm-wheel, the worm being axially movable to and fro by a cam so as to cause alternate increases and decreases in the angular velocity of the worm-wheel.

Beyond the stub-wheel 9 is a shoe 22 which engages the upper surface of the stub immediately the latter passes from the stub-wheel, and presses it against the paper web 4. This is in order to reduce the risk of the stub moving longitudinally relatively to the paper web after it has been positioned by the stub-wheel and the pusher 10 and finger 17. The shoe is slotted at 23 to enable the linger 17 to pass through it.

The stubs .and tobacco lengths pass from beneath the shoe 22 under a tongue 24 which also presses the stubs against the paper web and continues the control over the longitudinal positioning of the stubs exercised by the shoe 22.

Finally the paper web is folded and secured about the composite filler of stubs and tobacco lengths, thus forming a composite rod, which is then cut at appropriate intervals to produce mouthpiece cigarettes.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, these illustrate an alternative stub-inserting apparatus according to the invention. In this construction stubs are taken from the liuted drum 11 by two pushers 30 on a wheel 31 and transferred from the wheel 31 to a delivery wheel 32 by which they are delivered on to the paper web 4.

The wheel 31 is lixed on a shaft 33 to which is also lixed a gear wheel 34, which through gears 35 and 36 drives a gear 37 which is fixed on a hub 38 of the delivery wheel 32, the hub 38 being lixed on a shaft 39.

A linger carrier 40 comprises .a short sleeve 41 which is rotatably mounted on the hub 38, and a pair of projections 42 on each of which is adjustably mounted a member 43 comprising two fingers 44 and 45. The member 43 is so shaped that the fingers extend partly across the concave rim of the wheel 32, as seen in Figure 3.

Springs 46 (see Figure 2) are each attached at one end to a projection 42 and at the other end to the side of the wheel 32. These springs urge the finger-carrier against the stops 47 on the side of the Wheel 32 and thus cause it to rotate with the wheel, although it is at times caused to rotate on the hub 38 so as to lag behind the wheel, as will shortly be described.

Also formed on the carrier 4l) `are two projections 48, each of which is provided with a cam face 49.

A ring 50, provided with two pins 51, is lixed on the hub of the gear 36. As the gears 36 and 37 rotate, each pin 51 in turn cornes into engagement with one of the cam faces 49. The position of the cam face 49 on the carrier 40, relative to that of the pin 51 on the ring 50, is suchV that this engagement first occurs between parts of the cam face 49 and of the pin 51 which are unequal distances from their respective centres of rotation, the contacting part of the cam face being further from the centre of the shaft 39 than is the contacting part of the pin 51 from the centre of the shaft which carries the gear 36 and ring 50. In consequence, the contacting part of the cam face 49 is at that moment moving faster than the pin 51. Accordingly the projection 48 is forced back (relatively to the wheel 32) b'y the pin 51 which rides over the cam face until the point of contact is equi-distant from both centres of rotation. This is possible because, as explained above, the carrier 40 is loose on the hub 38 and can be turned on the hub against the tension of the springs 46.

In Figure 2 the parts are shown in a position in which this rotation of the carrier 40 has begun, the leading edge of the projections 42 having moved away from the stops 47.

On further rotation of the gears 36 and 37 land the parts fixed thereto, the pin 51 and cam face 49 move apart and the carrier 40 is free to be turned by the springs 46 to its normal position with the leading edges of the projections 42 against the stops 47.

The operation of the apparatus shown in Figures 2 and 3 is as follows. A tobacco stream is fed and severed in the same way as has been described with reference to Figure l, and stubs are fed into the gaps between successive lengths of tobacco by the ngers 44 and 45 on the delivery wheel 32.

The stubs are taken from the uted drum 11 by the pushers 30 on the wheel 31, which rotates as shown by the arrow, Figure 2, and each stub in turn is transferred from the wheel 31 to the delivery wheel 32, being received between the ngers 44 and 45 on one of the members 43. It will be seen from Figure 2 that at a time when a pair of fingers 44 and 45 is in position to receive a stub from pusher 30, the carrier 40 will be in its advanced position against the stops 47. Thus, at this time the ngers are moving at the same angular speed as the delivery wheel 32, and they continue to move at this speed until a cam face 49 engages a pin 51. When this occurs, both pairs of fingers are retarded relatively to the wheel 31, and this takes place at the moment when the lowermost pair of fingers, as viewed in Figure 2, have just delivered a stub on to the paper web 4, between two tobacco portions.

The wheel 32 rotates at such a speed that .a stub delivered by the :lingers when they are moving at the same speed as the wheel, has a faster forward speed than that of the paper web and the tobacco thereon. Thus Ias in the previous example the stub is pressed against the rear end of the preceding tobacco length. Immediately thereafter, however, the cam face 49 on the uppermost projection 48 (as viewed in Figure 2) 5 engages a pin 51, and the linger-carrier is thereby turned rearwardly on the hub 38, so that the stub which has just 6 been inserted, but which is still controlled by the ngers 44 and 45, is caused to move at a slower speed which is slower than the paper web. Accordingly, the stub lags behind the preceding tobacco length and is caused to move (relatively to the paper web and the tobacco) towards the leading end of the tobacco length behind it.

On further rotation of the wheel, the fingers while still being retarded, pass away from the stub, and subsequently the projection 48 moves away from the pin 51 and the carrier 40 is returned by the springs 46 to its forward position. Thus, by the time the fingers which have just delivered a stub register with a fresh stub carried by the wheel 31, they are in their forward position and moving at the same angular speed as the wheel 32, which is the same as that of the wheel 31.

The same cycle 'of operations is then repeated to deliver the stub carried by the other pair of lingers.

The remaining parts of the apparatus shown in Figure 2 are as described with reference to Figure 1.

What I claim as my invention and desire to securel by Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus for manufacturing cigarettes, means to feed forwardly an unwrapped tobacco ller, means to sever said ller, means to move a severed length of the ller lengthwise away from the length behind it by a distance such as to form between the two said lengths a space no greater than the length of a stub, and a member arranged to engage a stub and move it into said space at a faster forward speed than that of the tobacco lengths, and thereafter while engaging the stub to reduce the forward speed of the latter below that of the tobacco lengths.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim l, wherein the said member comprises an element arranged to engage the rear end face of a stub and a push it into said space at a faster forward speed than that of the tobacco lengths, and a further element arranged to engage the leading end face of the said stub and to move, after said stub has been inserted into the said space, at a slower forward speed than that of the tobacco lengths so as to reduce the speed of the stub.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, comprising a wheel by which the said elements are carried and which rotates References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,622,602 Molins Dec. 2s, 1952 2,667,877 Molins Feb. 2, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 414,087 Great Britain July 27, 1934 447,779 Great Britain May 26, 1936 

